LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Millions of people across the western United States and Canada were hit Sunday by a new round of scorching hot temperatures, with some roads closed, train traffic limited and new evacuations ordered. In Canada, with wildfires continuing to spread — including 50 more blazes erupting in the past two days — the government announced new emergency measures aimed at preventing further fires. Sweltering conditions hit much of the Pacific […]
North America
Assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise: what we know
by Robenson Geffrard with Cyril Julien in Washington Agence France Presse The assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise has plunged the impoverished Caribbean nation into crisis. Here’s what we know about the attack: – The assassination – Early Wednesday, around 1:00 am local time, gunmen attacked Moise’s heavily guarded private residence in the capital Port-au-Prince. Moise was shot dead and his wife, Martine, critically wounded. She was rushed to a local hospital and later […]
Mystery around Haiti leader’s murder intensifies
by Robenson Geffrard with Daxia Rojas in Washington and Amelie Baron in Paris Agence France Presse PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) — A 28-member hit squad made up of Colombians and Americans murdered President Jovenel Moise, Haitian police say, but little is known about who masterminded the assassination and their motives as the investigation pressed on Friday. Seventeen suspected assailants in Wednesday’s pre-dawn attack have been arrested, including 15 Colombians and two Americans of Haitian origin, […]
Florida condo tower death toll rises to 64
MIAMI, United States (AFP) — The death toll from the collapse of an apartment building in Florida has risen to 64, officials said Thursday, with 76 people still missing and presumed dead. Miami-Dade county mayor Daniella Levine Cava gave the new toll Thursday afternoon, admitting that reporting the numbers “has not gotten any easier” two weeks after the tragedy. Champlain Towers South, a 12-storey building in Surfside, a town north of Miami Beach, came […]
5.9 magnitude quake hits California-Nevada border
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck near California’s border with Nevada Thursday, rattling people in nearby cities including Sacramento, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The moderate, shallow quake in northern California hit around 50 miles (75 kilometers) away from Carson City in neighboring Nevada, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, and was followed by a series of minor tremors felt in parts of both western […]
26 Colombians, 2 Americans behind Moise killing: Haiti police
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) — At least 28 people carried out the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, Haitian police said Thursday, adding that 26 of them were Colombian and two were Americans of Haitian origin. “We have arrested 15 Colombians and the two Americans of Haitian origin. Three Colombians have been killed while eight others are on the loose,” national police director general Leon Charles said at a news conference. On Wednesday police said four […]
Assassins of president were ‘professional’ mercenaries: Haiti envoy
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The assassins Wednesday of Haiti’s president were “professional” mercenaries who disguised themselves as US agents and may have already left the country, Haiti’s ambassador to the United States said. The killers presented themselves at the residence of President Jovenel Moise as agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration but their conduct was not in keeping with forces from the US agency, Ambassador Bocchit Edmond said. “It was a well-orchestrated attack […]
Haiti police hunt down president’s assassins as uncertainty grows
by Robenson GEFFRARD PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) — Haiti police killed four “mercenaries” they said were behind the assassination of President Jovenel Moise Wednesday and took two more into custody, as the impoverished and crisis-hit Caribbean nation was pitched into uncertainty. Police did not identify the suspects or say what their motives were for the gun attack on Moise and his wife Martine, who survived, at their private residence in the capital Port-au-Prince in the early […]
Moderna begins human trial for multi-strain mRNA flu vaccine
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US biotech firm Moderna said Wednesday it had dosed its first participants in a human study of an mRNA vaccine that targets multiple strains of influenza. The company intends to recruit 180 adults in the United States for the Phase 1/2 portion of the trial to evaluate the safety and strength of immune response to the shot, called mRNA-1010. It is based on the same messenger ribonucleic (mRNA) technology deployed […]
N. America heat wave ‘virtually impossible’ without climate change: study
by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A record-breaking heat wave that hit the western United States and Canada at the end of June would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change, according to an analysis by a group of leading climate scientists. The World Weather Attribution group said that global warming, caused by greenhouse gas emissions, made the heat wave at least 150 times more likely to happen. Pacific Northwest areas of […]
Tropical Storm Elsa weakens after making landfall in Florida
by Eva Marie Uzcategui with Cyril Julien in Washington MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Tropical Storm Elsa made landfall in Florida on Wednesday, lashing the Gulf Coast of the southern US state with wind and rain but losing strength as it moved inland. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the center of the storm, which was downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane overnight, made landfall in Taylor County along the Gulf Coast of northern Florida. […]
Haiti President Jovenel Moise assassinated at his home: interim PM
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) — Haiti President Jovenel Moise was assassinated at his home early Wednesday morning by a group of armed individuals, interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph announced. Joseph said he was now in charge of the country. Moise’s injured wife was in the hospital, according to Joseph, who urged the public to remain calm, and insisted the police and army would ensure the population’s safety. “The president was assassinated at his home by […]





